Poker Solvers: Comprehensive Guide

In the ever-evolving world of poker, staying ahead of the competition requires more than just experience and intuition. Today's most successful players are leveraging cutting-edge technology to perfect their strategy, and at the forefront of this revolution are poker solvers. But what exactly is a poker solver, and why has it become an essential tool for serious players?

Poker solvers have fundamentally transformed how players approach the game, offering unprecedented insights into optimal strategy and decision-making. Whether you're an ambitious tournament player looking to take your game to the next level or simply curious about the tools professionals use to gain an edge, understanding solvers is now virtually mandatory for competitive play.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore everything you need to know about poker solvers: how they work, the benefits they provide, how to choose the right one, and most importantly, how to effectively incorporate solver study into your overall poker performance strategy. Let's dive into the world of poker's most powerful training tool.

What is a Poker Solver? A Clear Definition

A poker solver is advanced software that uses mathematical algorithms and game theory to calculate optimal strategies for specific poker scenarios. Unlike more basic poker tools that might provide odds or track statistics, a solver actually discovers the mathematically perfect approach to playing particular hands and situations.

At its core, a poker solver aims to find what's known as a Game Theory Optimal (GTO) solution—a strategy so mathematically balanced that it cannot be exploited by an opponent, regardless of how they play against you. This is achieved by calculating Nash Equilibrium strategies, a concept borrowed from economics and game theory, which represents a state where no player can improve their expected value by unilaterally changing their strategy.

Solvers accomplish this by systematically examining all possible actions in a given poker situation and determining the exact frequencies at which you should take each action (call, raise, fold) with specific hands to maximize your expected value over time. The result is a strategic blueprint that, if followed precisely, would be theoretically unbeatable in the long run.

Brief History of Poker Solvers

Poker solvers emerged in the mid-2010s, marking a revolutionary shift in how poker strategy is developed and studied. Before solvers, poker theory was largely built on experience, intuition, and relatively simplistic mathematical models.

The first widely-used solver, PioSOLVER, was released in 2015 and quickly gained popularity among high-stakes professionals. This was followed by competitors like GTO+, SimplePostflop, MonkerSolver, and more specialized tools like PokerSnowie that incorporated solver-based thinking into their training programs.

The impact of solvers on poker cannot be overstated. They've challenged conventional wisdom, debunked long-held strategic myths, and raised the standard of play across all stakes. Concepts that were once discussed in theoretical terms could now be proven or disproven with mathematical certainty, leading to a more rigorous and scientific approach to poker strategy development.

How Do Poker Solvers Work?

Understanding how poker solvers function requires breaking down the process into four key steps. Each step builds upon the previous one to create a complete solution for a given poker scenario. Let's examine this process in detail.

Step 1 - Building the Game Tree

The first step in any solver calculation is constructing what's called a "game tree"—a comprehensive map of all possible decision points in a hand. Think of a game tree as a flowchart that branches out with every possible action each player can take at every point in the hand.

For example, a typical game tree for a single hand might start with the preflop actions (fold, call, raise of various sizes), then branch out to each player's possible actions on the flop, then the turn, and finally the river. Each path through this tree represents one possible way the hand could play out.

Game trees grow exponentially in complexity. A simple preflop situation might have only a few dozen branches, but by the time you get to the river, the number of possible scenarios can be in the millions. This complexity is why solvers require significant computing power and why most solvers focus on specific sections of the game (like postflop play) rather than solving entire hands from start to finish.

Step 2 - Inputting Ranges

Once the game tree is established, you need to define the hand ranges for each player. A range is the complete set of hands a player might have in a given situation, along with the frequency of each hand. For example, a player's preflop raising range from the button might include all pocket pairs, all suited connectors, all suited aces, and various other hands at specific frequencies.

Setting realistic ranges is crucial for getting meaningful solver results. If you input ranges that don't reflect how real players actually play, the solver's output won't be applicable to real-world situations. Most solvers allow you to customize these ranges extensively, letting you specify exactly which hands are included and at what frequency.

Common mistakes when inputting ranges include making them too narrow (not including enough hands), too wide (including hands that wouldn't realistically be in a player's range), or not accounting for position and previous action properly. Many advanced users will base their range inputs on statistical data from real games or previous solver work to ensure accuracy.

Step 3 - Running the Solver

With the game tree built and ranges input, it's time to let the solver do its computational work. This process involves the solver using iterative algorithms to find the Nash Equilibrium solution—a state where neither player can improve their strategy by unilaterally changing it.

The most common algorithm used in poker solvers is counterfactual regret minimization (CFR), which works by repeatedly playing through the game tree and adjusting strategies to minimize "regret"—the difference between the outcome of the action taken and the best possible action that could have been taken.

This process requires significant computational resources. Simple scenarios might solve in seconds or minutes on a modern computer, but complex situations with large game trees can take hours or even days to solve completely. The more bet sizes and actions you include in your game tree, the longer the solution will take.

Most solvers will show you the progress of their calculations as they run, including an "exploitability" metric that indicates how close the current solution is to perfect GTO play. As the solver runs more iterations, this exploitability number gets smaller, indicating that the solution is getting more accurate.

Step 4 - Interpreting Outputs

Once the solver has completed its calculations, you're presented with the results—typically in the form of action frequencies for each hand in your range. For example, the solver might tell you that with Ace-King on a 9-7-2 rainbow flop, you should bet 75% of the pot 60% of the time, check 30% of the time, and make a larger bet 10% of the time.

These outputs include several key pieces of information:

• Expected Value (EV) - The average amount you can expect to win with each hand in chips or big blinds
• Action frequencies - The percentage of time you should take each possible action with specific hands
• Bet sizing recommendations - The optimal bet sizes in different situations
• EV differences - How much EV you lose by deviating from the recommended strategy

One common misinterpretation is to view solver outputs as absolute rules rather than equilibrium frequencies. For example, if a solver says to bet 70% of the time with a certain hand, many players incorrectly think they should always bet with that hand. In reality, the solver is recommending a mixed strategy—betting 70% of the time and checking 30% of the time—to remain unpredictable and balanced.

Another mistake is focusing too much on individual hands rather than understanding the patterns and principles behind the solver's recommendations. The real value of solver study comes from identifying these underlying principles, which can then be applied to similar situations you encounter at the table.

Benefits of Using Poker Solvers

Incorporating solver study into your poker training regimen offers numerous advantages that can significantly improve your game. Here are the primary benefits of using poker solvers:

Deeper Strategic Understanding

Solvers provide insights into poker strategy that would be impossible to discover through experience alone. By studying solver solutions, you'll develop a much deeper understanding of concepts like range construction, bet sizing, and frequency-based thinking. Many players report "aha moments" when they see how a solver approaches situations they've played hundreds or thousands of times, revealing subtle optimizations they'd never considered.

Identifying and Fixing Leaks

One of the most valuable applications of solver study is identifying weaknesses or "leaks" in your game. By comparing your default strategy in certain situations to the solver's recommendations, you can pinpoint areas where you're leaving money on the table. Perhaps you're folding too often in big pots, not value betting thinly enough, or using suboptimal bet sizes. Solvers can quantify exactly how much these mistakes are costing you in expected value.

Developing Better Poker Intuition

While solver outputs might seem highly technical and removed from practical play, regular study actually improves your poker intuition over time. As you internalize the patterns in solver solutions, you'll develop better instincts for how to play different hands and situations. This improved intuition is invaluable when you're playing at the table and don't have time for complex calculations—your gut feelings will be more aligned with optimal play.

Staying Ahead of the Competition

In today's competitive poker environment, solver study has become essentially mandatory for serious players. As more players incorporate solver insights into their games, those who don't fall behind. By dedicating time to solver work, you ensure you're keeping pace with evolving strategy and potentially gaining an edge over opponents who aren't studying as effectively. This is particularly important in tournament poker, where small edges can lead to significant differences in long-term results.

Confidence in Your Decision-Making

Perhaps the most underrated benefit of solver study is the confidence it gives you in your decisions. When you've thoroughly studied similar spots with a solver, you can make decisions at the table knowing they're backed by solid mathematical analysis. This confidence prevents you from second-guessing yourself or deviating from your strategy due to emotional factors—a common issue that plagues many poker players. With solver-backed confidence, you can execute your strategy more consistently and weather the inevitable variance of the game.

Top Poker Solver Software Compared

The market for poker solvers has grown considerably in recent years, with several options available to players of all levels. Each solver has its own strengths, weaknesses, and ideal use cases. Let's compare the most popular options to help you determine which might be best for your needs.

PioSOLVER

PioSOLVER is widely considered the gold standard for poker solvers and is the tool of choice for many professionals. Available in several versions (Edge, Pro, and Enterprise), PioSOLVER offers exceptional depth and customization options for serious students of the game.

• Strengths: Highly accurate solutions, extensive customization options, excellent visualization tools, and regular updates
• Weaknesses: Steep learning curve, higher price point, Windows-only (though can run on Mac via emulation)
• Best for: Serious poker players and professionals who want the most powerful and flexible tool
• Price range: $249-$999 depending on version

GTO+

GTO+ has gained popularity as a more accessible alternative to PioSOLVER while still offering powerful solving capabilities. It's particularly known for its user-friendly interface and faster solving times for simpler scenarios.

• Strengths: User-friendly interface, faster solving for basic scenarios, more affordable than PioSOLVER
• Weaknesses: Less customization than PioSOLVER, not as powerful for complex scenarios
• Best for: Intermediate players looking for a balance of power and usability
• Price: $75

SimplePostflop

As the name suggests, SimplePostflop focuses on making solver analysis more accessible to players who might be intimidated by more complex tools. It sacrifices some customization for ease of use.

• Strengths: Very user-friendly, excellent for beginners, simplified interface
• Weaknesses: Limited customization options, less powerful than premium solvers
• Best for: Beginning to intermediate players new to solver study
• Price: $59

MonkerSolver

MonkerSolver stands out for its ability to solve preflop scenarios effectively—something many other solvers struggle with due to the computational complexity involved. It's particularly popular among players focusing on preflop strategy optimization.

• Strengths: Excellent for preflop solving, supports multiple poker variants including PLO
• Weaknesses: Less intuitive interface, more technical knowledge required
• Best for: Advanced players interested in preflop solver work and alternative poker variants
• Price: $249

PokerSnowie

While not a traditional solver, PokerSnowie uses neural networks trained on solver solutions to provide quick feedback on hands. It's more of a training tool than a pure solver but deserves mention for its accessibility and instant feedback.

• Strengths: Instant feedback, no waiting for solutions, comprehensive training modules
• Weaknesses: Not a true solver, less customizable, can't explore different strategies in depth
• Best for: Players who want quick feedback and structured training rather than deep analysis
• Price: $99/year subscription

Are Poker Solvers Legal? Ethical Considerations

The legality and ethics of poker solvers is a nuanced topic that depends largely on how and when they're used. Let's clarify the key distinctions:

Tournament Rules and Regulations

In virtually all live tournaments, using any form of solver or strategy assistance during play is strictly prohibited. Most major tournaments have rules against electronic devices at the table and forbid receiving outside assistance of any kind. Violating these rules can result in penalties ranging from warnings to disqualification and even lifetime bans from tournament series.

Online Poker Site Policies

Online poker sites universally prohibit the use of real-time assistance programs that give strategy advice during play. This includes solvers, charts, calculators, or any software that provides strategic recommendations based on the current hand. Many sites employ sophisticated detection methods to identify players using such tools, and accounts found in violation can be suspended, banned, and have their funds confiscated.

Study Tool vs. Real-Time Assistance

The critical distinction is between using solvers as study tools versus real-time assistance. Using solvers to study hands away from the table—analyzing previous hands, exploring different strategies, and improving your understanding of poker theory—is completely legal and ethical. This is how the vast majority of serious players use solver technology.

Using solver assistance during actual play, however, is considered cheating in virtually all poker environments. This distinction is similar to the difference between studying a textbook before an exam (permitted) and bringing cheat sheets into the exam room (prohibited).

Ethical Considerations for Serious Players

Beyond the clear rules against real-time assistance, there are broader ethical considerations around solver use. The poker community generally supports players improving their skills through any legal means, including solver study. However, there's an ongoing debate about whether the proliferation of solver-based strategies is good for the game overall, particularly whether it makes poker less accessible to recreational players.

The consensus among professionals is that using solvers for study is not only ethical but necessary to remain competitive in today's game. However, most also emphasize the importance of not relying exclusively on solver recommendations and maintaining the human elements that make poker enjoyable—creativity, psychology, and adaptation to specific opponents.

How to Integrate Solver Study with Your Poker Training Regimen

Having a solver is one thing; knowing how to effectively incorporate it into your poker improvement journey is another. Here's how to create a balanced approach to solver study that maximizes its benefits while fitting into a comprehensive training program.

Creating an Effective Study Routine

The most successful poker players treat solver study as part of a structured training routine rather than random, unfocused sessions. Consider allocating specific time blocks in your schedule dedicated to solver work—many professionals recommend 2-3 focused sessions per week, each lasting 1-2 hours.

Structure these sessions around specific themes or scenarios. For example, you might dedicate one session to analyzing c-betting strategies on dry flops, another to exploring defensive play as the big blind, and a third to studying river decision-making in polarized scenarios. This focused approach yields more actionable insights than jumping randomly between unrelated spots.

Document your findings in a poker journal or digital note-taking system. For each solver session, record the key insights, patterns, and principles you discover, along with any specific hands or scenarios that illustrate these concepts. This documentation helps reinforce your learning and creates a personal strategy database you can reference before sessions.

Balancing Solver Work with Other Poker Study

While solvers are powerful tools, they should complement rather than replace other forms of poker study. A well-rounded training regimen might include:

• Hand history review - Analyzing your own played hands, ideally with tracking software
• Poker training content - Videos, articles, and courses from reputable coaches
• Discussions with peers - Study groups or forums where you can debate concepts
• Database analysis - Examining large samples of hands to identify trends
• Mental game work - Meditation, tilt management, and focus training
• Physical health maintenance - Exercise, nutrition, and sleep optimization

A common recommendation is to divide your study time with roughly 30-40% dedicated to solver work, with the remainder split among these other activities. This balanced approach ensures you're developing all aspects of your game rather than becoming overly focused on theoretical perfection at the expense of practical application.

Applying Solver Insights at the Table

The ultimate goal of solver study is to improve your decision-making during actual play. However, trying to directly implement solver solutions at the table is impractical and can lead to analysis paralysis. Instead, focus on extracting general principles and patterns from your solver work that you can apply more broadly.

For example, rather than memorizing that you should bet 67% of the pot with exactly A♠K♦ on a T♥7♣2♦ board, extract the principle that "strong unpaired hands tend to bet medium sizes on dry, uncoordinated boards." These broader heuristics are easier to remember and apply across similar situations.

Before poker sessions, review your notes on the most relevant solver insights for the games you'll be playing. For tournament players, this might mean reviewing push/fold charts before the late stages or brushing up on ICM-adjusted calling ranges. For cash game specialists, it might involve reviewing common flop textures and c-betting strategies.

How Solver Study Impacts Mental Performance

An often overlooked aspect of solver study is its relationship to your mental and physical state during play. Effective implementation of solver-derived strategies requires significant mental bandwidth—you need to be alert, focused, and operating at peak cognitive capacity.

This is where a holistic approach to poker performance becomes crucial. Proper nutrition, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and stress management techniques directly impact your ability to execute complex strategies at the table. A solver might show you the optimal play, but your physical and mental condition determines whether you'll be able to recognize and implement that play under pressure.

Consider tracking your energy levels and mental clarity alongside your poker results. You might notice that your ability to implement advanced concepts from your solver study deteriorates during long sessions or when you're physically or mentally fatigued. This awareness can help you make better decisions about when to play and when to rest, maximizing the return on your solver study investment.

Common Challenges When Using Poker Solvers (and How to Overcome Them)

While poker solvers offer tremendous value, they also present unique challenges that can frustrate even dedicated students of the game. Let's address these common obstacles and provide practical solutions to overcome them.

Technical Barriers

Many players struggle with the technical aspects of solver use—from installation issues to understanding the interface to setting up scenarios correctly. This is especially true for players who aren't particularly tech-savvy.

• Start with beginner-friendly solvers like SimplePostflop or GTO+ before advancing to more complex tools
• Follow tutorial videos provided by solver companies or poker training sites
• Join online communities where you can ask technical questions (like poker Discord servers or forums)
• Consider investing in a one-hour coaching session specifically focused on setting up and using your solver
• Begin with pre-built scenarios before creating your own complex game trees

Information Overload

Solver outputs contain an enormous amount of information—frequencies, EV calculations, and complex mixed strategies across hundreds of hands. This can quickly lead to information overload, where you're drowning in data without extracting actionable insights.

• Focus on one specific aspect of the solution at a time (e.g., just look at how strong draws are played)
• Look for patterns rather than memorizing specific hand frequencies
• Group hands into logical categories (strong pairs, draws, backdoor draws, etc.) and observe how each category is played
• Study simplified scenarios first before tackling complex spots
• Take detailed notes that distill complex solutions into simple principles you can actually remember

Translation to Real-World Scenarios

Many players struggle with the gap between solver theory and practical application. Solver solutions assume both players are playing optimally, which rarely happens in real games, especially at lower and mid stakes.

• Use solvers to understand the "why" behind optimal play rather than blindly following recommendations
• Study how solver strategies change when ranges are adjusted to reflect typical player tendencies
• Run exploitative simulations where you input opponent tendencies (like over-folding or over-calling) and see how the optimal counter-strategy changes
• Practice applying solver concepts in low-pressure environments before trying them in high-stakes situations
• Review hands where you applied solver concepts and analyze the results to refine your implementation

Maintaining Focus and Preventing Burnout

Solver study requires intense concentration and can be mentally taxing. Many players experience burnout or diminishing returns after long study sessions, which reduces retention and application of concepts.

• Limit solver sessions to 1-2 hours, with short breaks every 25-30 minutes (Pomodoro technique)
• Vary your study methods—alternate between solver work, hand reviews, and other forms of poker study
• Set clear, achievable objectives for each study session rather than open-ended exploration
• Use physical exercise, meditation, or other stress-reduction techniques before and after intensive study
• Schedule solver sessions during your peak cognitive hours when your focus and energy are naturally highest
• Ensure proper hydration, nutrition, and sleep to optimize brain function during complex analytical work

Case Study: How Professional Players Use Solvers

To truly understand the impact of solvers on poker performance, let's examine how professional players integrate these tools into their preparation and how it affects their results. While individual pros may not publicly share their exact methods, we can draw on interviews, training content, and observed strategy shifts to create a composite picture.

The typical high-stakes professional today dedicates significant time to solver study—often 10-15 hours weekly for full-time players. This study isn't random but highly structured, focusing on specific areas of the game tree relevant to upcoming tournament structures or common cash game scenarios they expect to encounter.

Many pros follow a similar workflow: they review hands from recent sessions, identify spots where they were uncertain about the optimal play, set up those exact scenarios in their solver, and then compare their actual decisions to the solver's recommendations. This process helps identify patterns of mistakes or missed opportunities that can be corrected in future sessions.

Beyond individual hand analysis, professionals often use solvers to develop comprehensive strategies for specific tournament stages or cash game environments. They might create and solve dozens of common scenarios that arise in late-stage tournament play, then distill those solutions into practical guidelines they can apply under pressure.

Before and After Solver Adoption

The impact of solver study on professional results is difficult to isolate given the many factors affecting poker outcomes, but anecdotal evidence is compelling. Many pros report significant improvements after incorporating regular solver study, particularly in win rates and consistency.

One common pattern is that pros experience an initial dip in results when first implementing solver concepts—a phenomenon often called the "solver implementation dip." This occurs because they're consciously trying to apply new concepts that haven't yet become intuitive, leading to hesitation and second-guessing. However, after this adjustment period, most report notable improvements in decision quality and results.

Perhaps the most visible evidence of solver impact is the dramatic evolution of preflop ranges and postflop strategies at the highest levels. Strategies that were considered standard just five years ago are now recognized as fundamentally flawed, thanks largely to solver analysis. The professionals who adapted quickly to these solver-driven insights generally maintained their edge, while those who resisted often saw their results deteriorate.

Integration with Overall Performance Strategy

The most successful professionals don't view solver study in isolation but as part of a comprehensive performance strategy. They recognize that the ability to implement solver-derived strategies depends on optimal physical and mental condition.

This integration takes several forms. Many pros schedule their most intensive solver study for times when they're naturally most alert and focused. They monitor how factors like sleep quality, nutrition, and exercise affect their ability to absorb and apply complex concepts. Some even track biometric data to identify optimal conditions for both study and play.

Crucially, top professionals also recognize when to deviate from solver-perfect play based on exploitative opportunities or table dynamics. They've developed the judgment to know when perfect GTO execution is critical (such as against other strong, solver-aware players) and when adjusting to exploit specific opponents will yield better results. This flexibility—knowing both the optimal strategy and when to deviate from it—represents the highest level of poker expertise.

Conclusion: The Future of Poker Solvers and Player Development

Poker solvers have fundamentally transformed how serious players approach the game, providing unprecedented clarity about optimal strategy and decision-making. Far from being a passing trend, solver technology continues to evolve and will likely remain an essential component of poker training for the foreseeable future.

As we've explored throughout this guide, solvers offer tremendous value in deepening strategic understanding, identifying leaks, developing better intuition, and staying competitive in an increasingly sophisticated landscape. However, they also present challenges in terms of technical complexity, information overload, and practical application.

The most successful approach to solver study is a balanced one—integrating theoretical insights with practical application, and recognizing that optimal poker performance requires attention to both the mathematical and human elements of the game. This includes understanding that your ability to implement complex strategies is directly linked to your physical and mental condition.

As solver technology becomes more accessible and user-friendly, the competitive edge will increasingly come not from having access to solver data, but from your ability to effectively internalize and apply it. This is where a holistic approach to poker performance—one that addresses strategic knowledge alongside physical health, mental clarity, and emotional control—becomes essential.

Whether you're just beginning your journey with poker solvers or looking to optimize your existing study routine, remember that these tools are means to an end rather than the end itself. The ultimate goal is to make better decisions at the table, and solvers are just one component—albeit a powerful one—of the complete toolkit available to the modern poker player.

By approaching solver study with intention, structure, and a commitment to overall performance optimization, you'll be well-positioned to extract maximum value from these remarkable tools and translate that value into tangible results at the poker table.

FAQs About Poker Solvers

How much time should I spend studying with solvers?

For serious poker players, dedicating 3-5 hours per week to focused solver study is generally sufficient. Quality matters more than quantity—a few hours of structured, deliberate practice with clear objectives will yield better results than many hours of unfocused exploration. Begin with shorter sessions (60-90 minutes) to prevent mental fatigue and gradually increase as your familiarity with the tools improves.

Which poker solver is best for beginners?

SimplePostflop and GTO+ are generally considered the most beginner-friendly options due to their more intuitive interfaces and lower price points. PokerSnowie, while not a traditional solver, also offers an accessible entry point to GTO concepts through its AI-based feedback system. Consider starting with one of these options before investing in more complex tools like PioSOLVER or MonkerSolver.

Can solvers be used for games other than No-Limit Hold'em?

Yes, several solvers support variants beyond No-Limit Hold'em. MonkerSolver is particularly notable for its Pot-Limit Omaha capabilities, while some specialized solvers exist for other games like Short Deck Hold'em. The principles of GTO calculation apply to all poker variants, though the complexity and computing requirements may increase dramatically for games with more cards and possible combinations.

How powerful does my computer need to be to run a poker solver?

The computing requirements depend on the solver and the complexity of the scenarios you're analyzing. For basic solver work, a modern mid-range computer with at least 8GB of RAM should be sufficient. For more complex scenarios or advanced solvers like PioSOLVER Edge, 16GB or more of RAM is recommended. CPU speed also matters significantly—faster processors will complete calculations more quickly. Some serious users even build dedicated solver computers with 32GB+ RAM and high-end processors specifically for running complex simulations.

Should I focus on GTO play or exploitative play?

This isn't an either/or question—the strongest poker players understand both approaches and know when to apply each. GTO study with solvers provides a solid strategic foundation and a default approach that can't be exploited, even against strong opponents. However, when you identify specific tendencies in your opponents that deviate from optimal play, making exploitative adjustments will be more profitable than strictly adhering to GTO. The best approach is to learn GTO principles thoroughly through solver study, then develop the skills to recognize and exploit deviations while knowing you can always fall back on unexploitable play when necessary.

How do solver recommendations change in tournament play versus cash games?

Standard solvers calculate optimal play in terms of chip expected value (cEV), which is directly applicable to cash games. Tournament play, however, introduces additional considerations like Independent Chip Model (ICM) pressure, which changes the value of chips based on payout structures and stack sizes. Some advanced solvers allow you to incorporate ICM considerations into their calculations, resulting in generally tighter recommendations in key tournament situations—particularly around bubble phases and final table play. Tournament players should either use ICM-aware solver functions or understand how to adjust standard solver recommendations to account for tournament dynamics.